The doorways are finished! Well, almost.

As you know, I have been working on the black outlining for the top and sides of the back doorway of the pavilion, and the blue-green band on the bottom--or leading, depending on your point of view--edge of the awning flaps, front and back. I'm trying to get all the work I can done on each seperate section *before* I put them all together because each part will get *much* more difficult to work with as the other huge chunks of canvas get attached. (It's one of the basic rules of sewing: Finish what you can *before* assembly*) And I'm happy to report, success! By which I mean that the prep work is done...now I just have to remember how it is supposed to go together

hmmmm.....

I'm thinking no pictures today , sorry.

Another site for extant tents

My mother has a bit of an adventurous streak in her, and in the late 80's she moved off to live in Turkey for about 10 years. Thus, when I told her about my interest in period pavillions she casually informed me that there is a collection of ancient tents and liners in the Turkish Millitary Museum in Istanbul, and then she gave me books!

(I can only find one of the books at the moment: Osmanli Cadir Sanati (XVII - XIX. yuzyli), Taciser Onuk, T.C. Kultur Bakanligi, 1998. In English: Ottoman Tent Art (XVII - XIX. centuries))

I, of course, devoured the books a gulp and rushed off to look up the Museum site, which I present to you here

Askeri Muse ve Kultur

Note: click on "Albumler" and then "Cadirlar" or, if you can find it, "Askerî Kıyafetler Salonu,' or "Üst Kat Salonlar" and then "Çadırlar Galerisi." I warn you, the links shown in the menu on the left of the page seem to change nearly every time I go to it. but keep trying. sometimes clicking on white space will make a whole new list of choices appear. (This works for me when the cursor, not the arrow is showing as the pointer.)

I managed to wend my way quite deeply into their photo galleries a few years ago, but then my computer crashed and I lost all the links so I am simply posting what I've got, for now.

I hope to get back to this on-line research project at some point, but for now I am making a pavillion! (Busy, busy.... :)

Note: see comments below for a bit more explanation of how I've found the pictures when the links aren't showing...

Pavillion Progress Update-1

In case you were wondering...

Yes, I'm still working on the pavilion.

I've finished the black couching on the second mottoe panel, and am currently working on the same outlining on the WATER panel for the back doorway. My hope is to get both back doorway panels done, and the two doorway/awning sections assembled this weekend. Look for pictures by Monday!

On other fronts, I am considering what to use to make the soft furnishings for the outside of the tent. I know I'll be making cushions for our chairs, and probably a mosquito netting screen house which I can attach under the awning flaps. (Mosquitoes really love me, but the feeling isn't mutual!) And I agree that we need standards...

Oh yes, and poles of course!

But all of that is for another day, right now it is all about the couching.

My chair plan

A question has been raised on the yahoo groups medieval encampments list regarding appropriate furniture for a late period, French, encampment.

I have been looking at extant examples of portable furniture from that period and have found variations of this chair from both England and Spain. I haven't looked at French furniture yet, but I suspect they also have a variation. (FYI, I took a brief look at French furniture yesterday and the form--"Caquetoire Garnie"-- does appear.) Some versions seem to collapse by removing the spreader bars between the sides, others may add or substitue hinges in the spreader bars, and some versions add hinges or other joints halfway down the legs for an additional point of collapse.

I'll add detail of my sources ASAP (NOTE: sources now added), but in the meantime I wanted to share my sketch-up model of a type of chair which I have never seen in my (admittedly limited) experience of SCA camping. To wit,

the Friar's (Monk's) chair

As usual, if you click on the picture it will take you to sketch-up where you can pivot the view or download the model to tinker with.

Folding sillon frailero of walnut (sixteenth century)

Musee Episcopal, Vich. Bacelona. "as in many early examples, the frame can be dismounted." From "Furniture Past & Present, L. Boger, Doubleday, 1966












Folding sillon frailero (sixteenth century)

Spanish Interiors and Furniture: Photographs and Drawings, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, William Helburn, Inc. 1921

Update on the Mottoe

The second section of goldwork is finished! Amazing. I thought it would never be done and then--poof--FINISHED! OK, OK, I still have to do the black outlining on that section, and two of the doorway panels, but still, FINISHED!

I might--just possibly--actually finish this pavillion in time for Pennsic. (I sure hope so, or we'll be sleeping in a day shade!)

More about Sketch-up

I just discovered that if you go to look at my designs on the sketch-up page you don't *have* to download an object to be able to see the entire circumference.

If you look in the upper right-hand corner of the picture frame there are two buttons "Image" and "3-D View". Clicking the 3-D View button just let me pivot the trailer so I could see all the sides.

Cool.

Downloading the trailer will let you actually go *inside* to take a look around there too.

(BTW, Sketch up items are shared by their creators to be *used.* Which means that you can tinker with things and make your own creation. I started my Tudor trailer plan by finding someone else's 7'X14' trailer to base my work on. Just like I would if I built it for real.)

But I'll get off my little "sketch-up is so cool!" soapbox for now.

My Tudor Trailer

Last summer I learned about the existence of a free downloadable 3-d modeling program (google sketchup 3-d) and started working on a plan for my dream portable house for SCA Camping.

I decided to complete my pavilion instead--for a variety of practical reasons, including the fact that I could work on it thru the winter in our heated house instead of trying to work in the frozen garage--but I still LOVE my trailer plan so I am sharing it with you here.

Aurora's 7x14' Tudor Trailer (Plan/Visualization)

It will have both a queen size bed and an additional sleeping berth/daybed, a "working" fireplace (canisters of gel fuel only), an outdoor kitchen based on drawers which pull out from under the bed, and both a woodpile and stone water trough to cover the wheels.

I love-love-love it!

I based the shape on various other pop-up SCA trailers I have been studying on-line. The intricacy of detail is based on extant examples of historic housing, notably:

Staple Inn, Holburn, London, England














and

Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England














For those of you who are wondering about the trailer details just click on the picture to go to sketch-up where you can download it and wander about (it's a 3-d model, remember?) to your heart's content.